My Beautiful Laundrette: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:12, 3 July 2012

British film released in 1985 directed by Stephen Frears based on a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. Won the Evening Standard Award for Best Film and the New York Critics` Award in 1985.

The movie is set in 1980s Britain in South London. The protagonist is 20-year-old Omar, son of a mixed marriage his father being a former Pakistani journalist (and now an alcoholic) and his mother being British (and dead). Omar gets the opportunity of gaining success when his rich uncle Nasser - a Pakistani businessman - offers him to take over a launderette. Omar and Johnny become business partners and build up the launderette. Omar also starts an affair with Johnny, a former member of the British National Party.

Important aspects

My Beautiful Laundrette represents many topics of postcolonial Britain: The motivation for success in Thatcherite Britain, the issues of race and ethnicity, identity issues of the young British- Asian generation and homosexuality. Kureishi shows that nationality is not an absolute feature that characterises people when he breaks stereotypes and thus creates individual figures.

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 British film released in 1985 directed by Stephen Frears  based on a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi.  Won the Evening Standard Award for Best Film and the New York Critics` Award in 1985.
-The movie is set in 1980s Britain in South London. The protagonist is 20-year-old Omar, son of a mixed marriage his father being a former Pakistani journalist (and now an alcoholic) and his mother being British (and dead). Omar falls in love with Johnny who belongs to the white British society and is a former racist.
+The movie is set in 1980s Britain in South London. The protagonist is 20-year-old Omar, son of a mixed marriage his father being a former Pakistani journalist (and now an alcoholic) and his mother being British (and dead). Omar gets the opportunity of gaining success when his rich uncle Nasser - a Pakistani businessman - offers him to take over a launderette. Omar and Johnny become business partners and build up the launderette. Omar also starts an affair with Johnny, a former member of the British National Party.
-Omar gets the opportunity of gaining success when his rich uncle Nasser- a Pakistani businessman representing wealth in Thatcherite Britain- offers him to take over a launderette. Omar and Johnny become business partners and built up the launderette.
 Important aspects
-My Beautiful Laundrette represents many topics of postcolonial Britain: The motivation for success in Thatcherite Britain, the issues of race and ethnicity, identity issues of the young British- Asian generation and homosexuality. Kureishi shows that nationality is not an absolute feature that characterises people when he breaks stereotypes and thus creates individual figures.
+''My Beautiful Laundrette'' represents many topics of postcolonial Britain: The motivation for success in Thatcherite Britain, the issues of race and ethnicity, identity issues of the young British- Asian generation and homosexuality. Kureishi shows that nationality is not an absolute feature that characterises people when he breaks stereotypes and thus creates individual figures.
 Further reading:
-Buchanan, Bradley. Hanif Kureishi. University of Michigan: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
+Buchanan, Bradley. ''Hanif Kureishi''. University of Michigan: Palgrave Macmillan [place?], 2007.
 www.internetprojekte-in-der-schule.de/projekte/laundrette/characters/html/imagemap.html
 http://literature.britishcouncil.org/hanif-kureishi